Skillet Chicken & Vegetables Parmesan

The parmesan REALLY makes the dish.  Add extra!




1/3 cup Italian dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 4-6 strips
1 tsp. basil, divided
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 T. parmesan cheese

Mix dressing and garlic in a large skillet.  Cook on medium heat for 1 minute.  Add chicken.  Season with 3/4 tsp. basil and pepper.  Cook 4-5 minutes each side or until chicken is cooked through.  Add vegetables to skillet.  Sprinkle with remaining basil and pepper.  Cook 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are heated through, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with the cheese and serve.

Tips & Tricks:
-For the vegetables I used fresh broccoli florets and thawed frozen carrots.  So the broccoli would steam I covered the skillet after adding the vegetables.
-Since you need to stir occasionally after adding the vegetables it was kind of awkward having big pieces of chicken in the skillet.  I think next time I'll cut them into bite-sized chunks instead.

Ravioli Bake

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 C. water
2 pkg. (1 lb. each) frozen ravioli in the flavor of your choice, thawed
1 pkg. (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 T. parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, and water together.  Spoon 1 cup onto bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.  Layer half the ravioli and 1 cup cheese over sauce.  Top with remaining ravioli and sauce mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover and bake 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 15 minutes or until ravioli is tender and heated through.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Let stand 10 minues before serving.

Tips & Tricks:
-I cut this recipe in half and used an 8-inch square baking dish.
-Feel free to substitute fresh chopped tomatoes for the canned ones.  You might want to add a little extra water though.
-It might be fun to use two different flavors of ravioli - like half beef filling and half cheese filling.

Easy healthier alternatives to popsicles & ice cream

This is great because you can use nonfat or low fat varieties in the flavors of your choice!

Pudding cups or individual yogurt cups
Popsicle sticks from the craft aisle

Punch sticks through lids of cups and put in the freezer until frozen.  To eat, remove the lid around the stick and pull pop out of cup.  If it doesn't want to come out, briefly run it under hot water and try again.

Beef Taco Salad

1 lb. hamburger
2 T. chili powder or packet of taco seasoning
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed tomato soup
8 C. lettuce (more or less)
3 C. tortilla chips or Fritos
Chopped tomato
Sliced green onion
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced black olives
Sour cream
Salsa
Refried beans

Cook hamburger in a skillet.  Add soup and seasoning.  Heat through until hot and bubbly.  Place lettuce and chips onto plates.  Spoon hamburger mixture over the chips.  Top with a combination of your favorite taco toppings.

Fancy Iced Coffee

Leftover cooled coffee
Ice
Coffee creamer of your choice

Fill your glass with ice.  Fill glass most of the way with coffee.  Add creamer until it tastes right to you!  This is such an easy way to get the yummy iced coffee without the cost and FAT & SUGAR of getting it at McDonalds or a coffee house.

Easy Homemade Hashbrowns

Potatoes - 4 mediumish ones were barely enough for us last night
Oil
Salt/pepper/other seasonings you like

Bake potatoes in oven or microwave the day before and store them in the refrigerator so they get nice and chilled.  When you're ready to start cooking remove them and shred them either in a food processor or with a hand grater over a plate.  Heat oil in a big skillet (over medium-high heat) with some salt and pepper sprinkled over it.  Spread potatoes evenly in skillet.  Salt and pepper the top.  Then let it cook until the bottom is browned to your liking.  Flip them in sections with a spatula and cook until that side browns.  Done!

Lime-Marinated Chicken

This is great for taking camping.  No prep but getting heat ready for grilling!

1 lb. chicken breasts (I used chicken breast tenders all trimmed and ready to go)
1/4 C. oil
2 T. lime juice
6 minced garlic cloves (or equivalent garlic powder)
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

If using big chicken breasts, pound them between sheets of plastic wrap until about 1/2 inch in thickness.  I just used the tenders the way they were.  Combine remaining ingredients in a zip-lock bag and squeeze to mix together.  Add chicken to bag and seal it.  Shake, squeeze, and move around to coat chicken.  Marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.  Remove chicken from bag, discarding liquid.  Grill, bake, or fry until chicken is done.

Monster Cookies

3 eggs
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cup margaine
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups flour
3 cups oatmeal
3/4 to whole package mini M&Ms

Mix together and bake 12 minutes at 350 degrees.  I got about 40 big cookies.  They did get a little flat.